BW RU Dancing Free (peaked #1)

So err, yeah, I'm SilentVerse, and I'm typically a C&Cer and UU (both Gen IV and V) player. Anyway, I decided to delve into RU in October-ish to see what it's like; after all, a friend on another website noted that a lot of Pokemon essentially moved down a tier from Gen IV to Gen V, so I thought RU would be a cool metagame to try out with so many old Gen IV UU staples in the tier. RU did not disappoint; it's really a fun tier that is fairly balanced, and it has a fair amount of diversity, and imo it really has a Gen IV UU ish feel. There are also some really cool mons which are actually really viable in RU, and in this RMT I will showcase one of my personal favorites.

This team was actually inspired by Amarillo's post here in the creative movesets thread which gave a moveset for Quiver Dance Butterfree. Of course, the fact that I really like Butterfree was a reason for my interest, but I was also genuinely interested in how it would do in that metagame. With Venomoth and Yanmega gone from the tier, in addition to the amount of walls who Butterfree could easily set up on, perhaps she could be a respectable replacement for Venomoth? I was kinda doubtful though at first, so I just slapped together a team in a few minutes to see how it would do. To my surprise, Butterfree was far better than I anticipated. Though her poor stats and Stealth Rock weakness were a huge detriment, I found that it was surprisingly easy to sweep with her, and losses from that team were mainly due to design flaws in the team itself. From there, I made a few more changes to fix up some gaping holes in the team's design, and this team has been consistently in the upper reaches of the leaderboard for a long while since. In any case, it's really been a fun and strong team to use, but I feel that now it's become easier to deal with since so many people know what Butterfree and, to a lesser extent, Probopass can do (though unfortunately, Probopass has been removed from this team since then). That being said, this isn't really a retirement RMT since it's still really fun and somewhat effective, but I feel that I should probably show the team that I've been able to use for so long successfully before it really starts to do poorly, and with the upcoming tier shifts, this team might be harder to use. In any case, I present: Dancing Free.

Naturally, Butterfree was the starting point of this team. Right off the bat, I knew that Butterfree would need a ton of support if it was going to actually do anything; in particular, Rapid Spin was the most important due to Butterfree's crippling Stealth Rock weakness. I also wanted Stealth Rock, possibly other entry hazards, and stuff to resist Butterfree's other weaknesses to Ice, Fire, Rock, Electric, and Flying. I wanted to cover as many of these things as possible in one slot, so looking at the available spinners in the tier, the only good ones who could set up Stealth Rock and Rapid Spin were Claydol and Sandslash. After a bit of deliberation, I ultimately decided to go with Sandslash, since my experience with Claydol beforehand hadn't been good, as Ghost-types had a field day with it, and Sandslash at least had a strong Earthquake and Night Slash to hit Ghost-types with.

Sandslash covered my Stealth Rock and Rapid Spin needs, in addition to an Electric and Rock resist. Now, I wanted a bulky Water-type to cover Fire and Ice types who could be threatening. At this point, my choice for a bulky Water was pretty easy to decide; I wanted one who was bulky enough to consistently take abuse from a variety of opponents. While Poliwrath and Lanturn did come to mind, they weren't what I wanted since they lacked reliable recovery, which make them not as bulky as they should be. Thus, I went with Slowking, whose amazing bulk was complemented with Slack Off and Regenerator.

Next, I wanted something who could sweep if Butterfree failed to do so, while simultaneously boosting Butterfree's potential by possibly damaging checks to her. This is a rather vague description in itself, but, once I looked at Slowking, I decided on a Grass-type sweeper so I could have the Water / Grass part of the FWG core which was so successful in Gen IV UU. There were two main Pokemon who could fit this description; Rotom-C and Sceptile, both with advantages which could make them successful. Rotom-C possessed Volt Switch to get Butterfree into the match, in addition to excellent bulk to make it easy to switch in. Unfortunately, it would have to run Choice Scarf to be fast enough to sweep. Sceptile, on the other hand, had the natural Speed, similarly good Special Attack, and the Substitute + Leech Seed combo which could whittling down threats to Butterfree, but he would be frail as heck. Ultimately, I went with Sceptile, since I felt that SubSeed would make Sceptile the better standalone Pokemon, but the choice between the two is still something I am considering.

With the Grass / Water part of the core, I decided to go with a Fire-type to finish it up and give the team some nice synergy. A physical Fire-type would be more appreciated, since with the majority of this team so far being specially-oriented, something to muscle through special walls would be appreciated. Entei is the premier physical Fire-type of RU, and his access to Extremespeed would give me some much needed priority.

However, even with Entei on the team, I felt that I still was relatively weak to special walls; stuff like Munchlax could easily wall this team without breaking a sweat. Also, I was worried about Sandslash's ability to successfully Rapid Spin, since it was also burdened with setting up Stealth Rock. Thus, I decided to use one of the Hitmons in the final slot to break through those specially defensive walls in addition to giving me an extra Rapid Spinner if necessary. The choice between Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee was also an important decision, but at that point, I decided to opt for Hitmonlee to fit with the team's more offensive edge.

This version of the team wasn't bad at all, and it did get me into the screenshot for round 2 of RU. However, it was very, very weak to prominent threats in the metagame; Honchkrow could literally 6-0 this team by itself since I had nothing that could take a Brave Bird safely, and Porygon-Z and other Normal- and Flying-types were similarly problematic. At this point, I felt that Sandslash was the weakest link; it was a decent Rapid Spinner and Stealth Rock user, but it wasn't particularly outstanding at either job, and it ending up just setting up Stealth Rock and dying most of the time. Thus, I decided to replace Sandslash with a more reliable Stealth Rock user, and hopefully a Steel-type to take on all those threatening Pokemon. Steelix seemed like a very good choice, but I actually wanted to try out Probopass, since it looked like it would be able to take on Porygon-Z more reliably than Steelix and Thunder Wave and Volt Switch would be good for Butterfree.

This team peaked at #1 in round 3 of RU. However, without Sandslash, I found that I was having a harder time spinning since Hitmonlee is just so damn frail, not to mention that it had a difficult time breaking through the Ghost-types would spin blocked against it. Looking back to why I put Hitmonlee on the team, I decided to go with Hitmonchan over it, as Hitmonchan's extra bulk and Drain Punch make it a way more reliable Rapid Spinner.

My latest change makes me a bit sad honestly, but after a bit of thought, I have decided to replace Probopass with Steelix. For the most part, this is due to metagame shifts; stuff like Lilligant are less common nowadays, and physical attackers like Aggron and Aerodactyl are much more common. Unfortunately, Probopass just doesn't do enough to stop these threats, since one Earthquake easily takes him out, and he still takes a stupid amount from Head Smash, Stone Edges, and the like. Steelix, on the other hand, is much more flexible, and can take those stray Earthquakes like a champ. The Roar support Steelix provides is also quite cool, since it's nice to be able to phaze out those stupid Sigilyphs and SubCM Uxies without having to stall them out with Slowking. I'm not sure if this change will last, since depending on certain trends, Probopass may work better for this team once again (think if stall becomes popular. Probopass's ability to Volt Switch REALLY helps vs stall), but for now, this is the current iteration of this team.

Team at a Glance:

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To give a brief overview of this team, this is basically a balance team which uses two main cores; an offensive one utilizing Butterfree, Sceptile, and Entei to wear down each others counters and attempt to sweep, and a defensive core of Steelix and Slowking to wall things who can give issues to my offensive core, in addition to providing my team with a strong defensive backbone overall. Hitmonchan serves as the necessary Rapid Spinner considering Butterfree's and Entei's weakness to Stealth Rock, and he usually just does a bunch for the team overall, from acting as a respectable revenge killer or checking some weaker threats. The Grass / Fire / Water core is also present, which gives my team some nice synergy overall and makes it easier to switch certain Pokemon in, and Steelix's Steel typing rounds this off nicely. This team is designed to have Butterfree sweep if possible, but if this isn't possible, the team is still perfectly capable of sustaining itself if Butterfree isn't able to sweep.

Steelix is this team's newest addition, replacing old time member Probopass, who is currently in retirement. Steelix's main job is to beat physical attackers who can pose an issue for this team. Stuff like Aggron, Archeops, Aerodactyl, Drapion, LINOONE, Klinklang, Honchkrow, and similar Pokemon are easily dealt with by Steelix, and he can hit them back with a decently powerful Gyro Ball or Earthquake. However, Steelix is not just limited to physical attackers either, as he beats down SubCM Uxie, Rotom, and, with proper prediction, he generally makes an ok switch-in against Choiced Electric-types. Steelix also phazes out troublesome stat boosters, and with Sturdy, he is almost guaranteed to phaze out the threat unless Spikes are on the field, and he provides my team with the ever useful Stealth Rock, which helps wear down the opposing team for my offensive core. There's really not a lot to say about Steelix; he comes in, checks stuff, phazes stuff, and sets up Stealth Rocks.

Even though Steelix is necessary to check a bunch of threats, I often find that it really isn't that necessary to play that cautiously lol. Steelix's massive defenses mean that he just shrugs off most hits so easily, and even predicted Earthquakes and the like won't automatically OHKO him, some even failing to 2HKO him, so I don't really have to think that hard when using him. I guess it becomes more of an issue when the opponent has a bunch of physical attackers who can just wear down Steelix with predicted hits. In those cases, I sometimes have to send out Hitmonchan or Slowking instead, since they can take some physical attackers (think Drapion), which helps ease the pressure on Steelix. I also have to save Steelix when the opponent has a SubCM Uxie or something in the wings, but at the same time, I really want Stealth Rock to get up as soon as possible so they can't just play around my team with stuff like Volt-turn (though Steelix also helps against that too). I guess in cases like those, when to send out Steelix becomes somewhat of an issue, but eh, he really is quite simple to play.

Steelix shares wonderful synergy with Slowking, as he beats up those nasty physical attackers and Electric-types which usually attempt to take down Slowking, and in tandem, both of them check most of the offensive threats in the metagame, bar some stuff like Lilligant and Nasty Plot + Trick Room Cofagrigus. Stealth Rock is also very beneficial for Butterfree in particular, as it breaks down troublesome Fire-types like Moltres and Entei who Butterfree can have trouble beating. He also prevents opposing Pokemon from setting up on Sceptile, Entei, and Hitmonchan via Roar.

Possible Changes:

As I noted, Probopass may very well take this spot again depending on metagame shifts. Probopass still does most of what Steelix does, albeit a more specially defensive Steelix, in setting up Stealth Rock and checking a bunch of threats with his Steel typing. However, Probopass has Thunder Wave to cripple those Pokemon, and Volt Switch is a fantastic way to get Butterfree into the match and keep momentum. The lack of Roar though is really crippling, and the fact that Probopass has no offensive presence really hurts him. But in the end, it really will come down to metagame shifts; if Lilligant and stuff become more common, then by all means, Probopass will return to this team, but for now, Steelix does an admirable job.

Yeah, if you haven't noticed yet, this is my favorite Pokemon of all time, and I've always wanted to be able to successfully build a team around her. Anyways, Butterfree is the centerpiece of this team, and she is simply amazing. While you might think that she is outclassed by Lilligant, that is far from the truth. Tinted Lens is absurdly good, and the amount of stuff it and Substitute allow Butterfree to get away with is ridiculous. With Substitute, Butterfree can set up on defensive Uxie, Slowking, Claydol, and even stuff like Aggron who she would never dream of setting up against. Once she's got an intact Substitute and a Quiver Dance under her belt, Butterfree really becomes hard to stop. Lilligant is strong and all, but the key thing is, she is easy enough to wall since Grass isn't exactly the best offensive attacking type, which forces her to use Hidden Power for coverage, and there's a ton of stuff like Bouffalant who are common and wall her (partially due to how common she is but whatever!). Butterfree, on the other hand, is able to utilize solely Bug Buzz to pull off a sweep or at least dent some opposing Pokemon, and while she's still walled by stuff like Munchlax, the sheer usefulness of Tinted Lens Bug Buzz gives her a strong niche. She can be an asset against both offensive and defensive teams, and she almost always pulls her weight thanks to Sleep Powder. Unfortunately, her Stealth Rock weakness and frailty is a huge problem, and sometimes if I play poorly she just ends up being death fodder. In the end, Butterfree is kinda like a wild card for this team; if I play her correctly, and use good prediction, she will be able to do a good amount of damage to the opposing team, but if not, she will more often than not serve as death fodder.

It's hard to switch Butterfree into the match sometimes due to her frailty, but there are a few Pokemon who are extremely easy to set up on. Claydol, Gligar, Slowking, Tangrowth, and sometimes Uxie are usually her main switch in opportunities. All of these Pokemon, bar max Speed Uxie and Gligar are slower than her, which allows Butterfree to easily set up a Substitute on an attempted status inducing move. From there, Butterfree is usually pretty free to start Quiver Dancing since after a Quiver Dance or two, they will fail to break her Substitutes. If necessary, I might switch Butterfree into a different slower Pokemon, such as Aggron, and set up a Substitute. The nice thing about setting up a Substitute first is that if the opponent switches into a frail, faster Pokemon like, say Galvantula, I can Quiver Dance to outspeed, put them to sleep, and set up another Substitute to terrorize whatever else the opponent might try to switch in. If they switch in something like Entei, Butterfree can just Bug Buzz to do some very respectable damage; iirc, an unboosted Bug Buzz does 36.39% - 43.13% to Entei, which deters it from coming in again.

Interestingly, even though this team is based around Butterfree, it does not revolve around her. What I mean by this is that even though it does support her and gives her the opportunities to shine, it does not necessarily need her to win. To the rest of the team, Butterfree really does not offer much; at best, she might sleep something troublesome such as, say, Bulk Up Gallade, to help, but most of the time, she doesn't do a whole lot synergy wise. This further adds to Butterfree's status as this team's wildcard. However, that being said, this team itself really tries to help Butterfree sweep whenever possible. Steelix sets up Stealth Rock to beat down Butterfree's few counters, while luring in set-up bait for Butterfree in Gligar and Claydol. Sceptile whittles down many of Butterfree's counters with SubSeed, and breaks stuff like Bouffalant who are a pain for her to deal with. Hitmonchan spins away those crippling Stealth Rocks, and Entei leaves holes in the opposing team to give Butterfree the opportunity to sweep.

Possible Changes:

There are basically no changes that I would really go for on Butterfree. Each of her moveslots are essential for her success, and Tinted Lens is beautiful alongside Bug Buzz. Sure, Sleep Powder missing on important mons sucks sometimes, but it's really just hard to deny the usefulness of Tinted Lens. I could just switch Butterfree to Lilligant, but after trying that, I really like Butterfree more honestly. Like I said, the fact that Lilligant has to rely on two move coverage really, really sucks, and, as odd as it sounds, Lilligant kinda has worse synergy with this team overall. Butterfree can actually check some Fighting-types such as BU Gallade with Stealth Rock off the field, whereas Lilligant does not.

Sceptile is such a boss. SubSeed Sceptile whittles away at the opposing team, while simultaneously acting as a stupidly strong revenge killer with Overgrow boosted Leaf Storms. If Butterfree doesn't manage to sweep, this thing often will simply because it will nip off the opposing team one by one due to the sheer power of Leaf Storm. Also, Sceptile is an important piece in revenge-killing threats such as SD Feraligatr, Kabutops, and even stuff like Sawsbuck, and his ability to destroy bulky waters like Slowking is really appreciated. Once Subseed gets going too, it's pretty difficult for offensive teams to stop it without losing at least one poke. Overall, Sceptile is just that solid secondary back-up Pokemon in case Butterfree fails to do her job, and his role as an offensive Grass-type just brings a lot to the team.

Ugh, sometimes I really do feel that I play Sceptile too recklessly, but in a way, I really need to just because her power after an Overgrow is necessary in checking certain threats; for example, Sceptile actually makes a good check against Nasty Plot Trick Room Cofagrigus, as she can just Substitute down into Overgrow range and blast the offender with a Leaf Storm. Subbing down into Overgrow range to smack things with Leaf Storm usually ends up being a good strategy, since I can do this while stalling out Rain, Trick Room, and the like before KOing whatever once the coast is clear. On the other hand, sometimes I have to save Sceptile's HP to deal with stuff like SD Feraligatr. It's tricky sometimes when I have to choose between the two of these options (f u ShakeItUp >:( ), but imo Sceptile doesn't have to and probably shouldnt been played that conservatively, aside from using Substitute to scout occasionally; it's main goal is to weaken stuff and plow through a bunch of mons for the rest of the team, and focusing on SubSeeding doesn't do that very well. Instead, the key is to use SubSeed to check certain threats, such as SubCM Uxie, since you can Leech Seed them before they get behind a Substitute and wear them down.

Sceptile has amazing synergy with Butterfree, since Butterfree can lure out some threats such as Bouffalant, Entei, Moltres, and the like, and do severe damage or put them to sleep. From there, Sceptile has a much easier time SubSeeding everything to death or blasting the opponent's remaining Pokemon with Overgrow boosted Leaf Storms. On the flip side, Sceptile also supports Butterfree by luring out similar Pokemon and whittling them down via SubSeed or blasting them with Focus Blast. Sceptile also has an important purpose in defeating physically defensive Water-types to allow Entei to smash through the opposing team.

Possible Changes:

A big change I've been considering is replacing Sceptile with a Choice Scarf Rotom-C. Rotom-C has three big things which make it stand out; Levitate, Volt Switch, and Trick. The thing is, this team is actually quite weak to stall. However, Rotom-C easily patches that weaknesses up since his immunity to hazards except for Stealth Rock, ability to Volt Switch to keep momentum, and Trick to render a wall useless gives me a huge weapon against stall, while also still filling the roll of a strong revenge killer that Sceptile does so admirably. The thing is though, the fact that Rotom-C has to be locked into an attack to revenge kill, and cannot do so once it loses its Scarf is very troubling, and the main reason I'm sticking with Sceptile for the moment. However, if stall becomes common, perhaps Rotom-C would easily find its way onto this team. I could try LO Sceptile too, but I feel that it would die far too quickly for my liking.

Slowking is THE bulky water for this tier, and it's not hard to see why. His great overall bulk and Water typing makes him such a good sponge, and Regenerator is really helpful on a balanced, somewhat offensively-oriented team like this one. Slowking's job is to spread status via Thunder Wave and Scald to help assist Butterfree in setting up, and he soaks up some lethal hits which Butterfree wouldn't be able to stomach. While he kinda does slow down the momentum of this team, he checks so many mons that I can't imagine NOT having him on this team. Off the top of my head, Moltres, Typhlosion, Medicham, Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee, Entei, Omastar, and sometimes Gallade are checked or countered by this thing, and his usefulness as a general sponge can't be ignored either. This guy survives a LO Bug Buzz from Accelgor at full health, and can paralyze in return. He's that bulky.

The beautiful thing about Slowking is that playing it is really easy. Because of Regenerator, I can throw this guy into many threats, and he'll switch out of them with HP to spare, and Regenerator allows me to pivot with Slowking a bunch, since I don't have to waste the turn the opponent switches out on recovering. For example, against Moltres, I can send Slowking in, take a hit, then switch out on as the Moltres likely switches too. This keeps momentum in my favor, and can give that valuable double switch for Butterfree or Entei to get into the match. Of course, I can't do this all the time since the opponent usually catches on, but at the same time, the opponent cannot risk losing a Pokemon like Moltres most of the time vs Slowking. Still, if I feel unsure of what the opponent will do, I usually just Thunder Wave to cripple whatever switches in, or the Moltres or something if it stays in, and this usually works well since they usually send in Rotom-C or something who despise paralysis. However, if they have a Manectric on their team, I obviously can't be as careless, and I usually end up Scalding the switch-in instead.

Slowking and Steelix form an excellent core together, checking almost every relevant threat in the metagame. Slowking's Thunder Wave support allows Entei and Hitmonchan to outspeed certain troublesome threats, and it allows Sceptile and Butterfree to fish for paralysis against troublesome foes, allowing them to beat that opponent with a little luck. Burns from Scald also ease set up for both Butterfree and Sceptile. Entei and Butterfree can take on Grass-types which can give Slowking trouble, and Hitmonchan's ability to Rapid Spin away hazards allows Slowking to get the most out of Regenerator.

Possible Changes:

I'm probably not ever going to replace Slowking, since he's such an amazing catch-all vs a ton of threats that it would just be dumb to use something else. However, there are a few things EV and moveset wise that could be refined. Though this EV spread looks weird, and admittedly it kinda is, but there are a few reasons for it. The Special Attack EV iirc allow Slowking to always break standard Bulk Up Gallade's Substitute after one Bulk Up, which allows Slowking to act as a makeshift check to Gallade if I've managed to weaken it sufficiently. Also, the Special Defense EVs allow Slowking to survive a Shadow Ball from Nasty Plot + Trick Room Cofagrigus at +2 without any prior damage, which allows Slowking to do some decent damage to Cofagrigus if necessary. The 8 Speed EVs are to beat min Speed Cofagrigus, other Slowking, and Steelix, while the rest is dumped into Defense. However, a physically defensive spread may be useful to allow Slowking to take on Entei more easily, and I may end up replacing Psyshock with Psychic so I don't end up losing to random Bulk Up using Fighting-types.

Hitmonchan is really my favorite Rapid Spinner in the tier. His mix of power, bulk, and Speed make him an excellent choice for this team, and he serves a number of roles for this team, including a back-up revenge killer, a strong physical attacker, and, more importantly, my team's Rapid Spinner. With two Stealth Rock weak Pokemon who are crucial for this team's success, Hitmonchan's Rapid Spin support is irreplaceable. He also checks some special attackers like Accelgor with reasonable success, though with this spread he's not that bulky and risks being 2HKOed by Focus Blast, and he breaks through many special walls such as Clefable and Munchlax. Also, he is my best answer to stuff like Sharpedo, and I use him for revenge-killing more than Entei if possible since it's somewhat harder to set up on Hitmonchan. To summmarize, Hitmonchan is a boss and he fills up the holes that this team has, which makes him vital synergy-wise.

I would just like to say this: spinblockers in RU are stupidly, stupidly good. As good of a Rapid Spinner Hitmonchan is, with stuff like Cofagrigus and Spiritomb in the tier, it's pretty damn hard to successfully pull off a Rapid Spin. This is especially true since I don't have Foresight, though I suspect it wouldn't help a particularly huge amount since Hitmonchan will just get burned or set up on anyway. Since Rapid Spin is so important for the team though, if these spinblockers are on the opposing team, I have to play Hitmonchan really carefully, since he just can't do anything to those troublesome spinblockers aside from a weak Ice Punch. In these cases, I have to use my other teammates to take on the spinblockers, and hope that they don't get worn down too fast by the hazards that are likely accompanying them. Aside from when I sorely need to spin with this guy though, I actually end up playing quite recklessly with him, switching him into stuff like Sharpedo without worrying too much, but thanks to Drain Punch, he usually stays alive for quite a while during matches.

Ironically, Butterfree can actually help Hitmonchan spin sometimes, since she can put the troublesome spinblockers to sleep sometimes and blast away with a Tinted Lens Bug Buzz, and at least she's immune to Spikes and Toxic Spikes. Entei absorbs incoming Will-O-Wisps and smashes those spinblockers with his amazingly strong Choice Banded Flare Blitz. Also, since Cofagrigus, which is by far the most common spinblocker, is usually physically defensive, Sceptile can do pretty well do since Leaf Storm does a huge amount of damage, especially if Sceptile is in Overgrow range. Aside from Rapid Spinning, Hitmonchan also just breaks through special walls alongside Entei to help Butterfree or Sceptile do more damage to the opposing team.

Possible Changes:

Eh, Hitmonchan is just too vital for this team to really replace. The only change I'm considering is maybe replacing one of his attacking moves with Foresight so I can Rapid Spin more reliably, but I like Mach Punch, Drain Punch, and Ice Punch too much, so I'm not really sure which one I'd replace if I were too do so. I could also try for a bulkier EV spread too, but Hitmonchan kinda needs the power so it can break through those troublesome special walls.

With the vast majority of this team's Pokemon being specially based, I wanted a super strong Pokemon who could bust through special walls while also serving as a physically based revenge killer. Considering I had the Grass and Water part of the Grass / Fire / Water core, I decided to fill this hole with Entei, and I've never looked back. Entei is simply a beast; with an Adamant nature, max Attack, and a Choice Band, Entei is just incredibly strong. Entei OHKOes or 2HKOes almost all the Pokemon who my other Pokemon cannot deal with, and the sheer power of Flare Blitz means that bulky boosting Pokemon will not be able to boost up while Entei is still alive. His ability to revenge kill is also greatly appreciated, since this team is actually quite slow for the most part aside from Sceptile, and preventing those faster threats from cleanly sweeping this team is really nice. There's really not a lot to say about this guy; he just comes in, probably kills or severely maims something, then switches out. Toxic is really just filler, but it's nice to hit something like Slowking in a last ditch attempt so I can stall it out with my own Slowking if necessary.

Entei is very simple to play. The only thing I need to do is let this guy come in, possibly on a resisted hit or a double switch, and click Flare Blitz. If they have something like Qwilfish which can potentially wall Entei, I just have to switch to Sceptile, since most of the time they'll have to switch to that poke or risk losing a Pokemon to the sheer power of Entei's Flare Blitz. Though in theory Entei requires more prediction due to Choice Band, really, so few things can take a Choice Band Flare Blitz that it really isn't necessary to predict at all, unless you count double switching to Sceptile. If I have to revenge something, I really don't have to predict either. Clicking Extremespeed is the best option, since even if they have a Ghost or Ferroseed or something, I can't risk having them run through the team with that lethal Pokemon. Because of this, sometimes I actually use Hitmonchan for my main revenge killing duties, unless the power of Extremespeed is really necessary.

Entei is walled by physically defensive Water-types, who are dealt with by Sceptile and Slowking. Entei also smashes through specially defensive walls who wall the rest of my team. Slowking's ability to spread paralysis is also useful for Entei, since paralysis allows him to outspeed some of those faster Pokemon who can take a Flare Blitz and KO him, and proceed to 2HKO. Furthermore, Steelix ensures that it is difficult to use Entei as set-up fodder, as Roar can phaze out those Pokemon in an instant, and Steelix's Stealth Rock support helps Entei wear down the opponent.

Possible Changes:

I'm kinda thinking about using Leftovers instead of Choice Band for longevity, but the power of Choice Band is really too hard to give up. Otherwise, Entei is fine, since basically nothing else matches the sheer destructive power of Entei, and few things can also boast his incredible revenge killing powers.
Conclusion:

While somewhat gimmicky, this team has probably been the most fun I've had laddering in a long, long time. The feeling you get when you manage to successfully sweep with a "useless" Pokemon like Butterfree is just glorious, and the fact that the team works as well as it does was really surprising. The team itself imo is really solid, and tbh, I've used this team as a base for a LOT of my teams (HINT: look at the team I used for the RU Dark Horse Challenge :p). After using this team and playing RU a bunch, I really feel that RU is probably one of my favorite metagames, after DPP UU, since it's really just a cool tier with so much potential for so many Pokemon, which is actually very similar to the reason why I liked DPP UU so much, and I think the RU metagame reflects a similar, DPP UU-ish metagame. So, to wrap up this RMT before it gets horribly tl;dr, RU is an amazing metagame and you guys should play it more.

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tl;dr, but seriously just some move changes that might be helpful, you could run Giga Drain over Leaf Storm on Sceptile, with the buff this gen, and considering that it sub seeding, Giga Drain should allow Sceptile to stay in a longer, or come out of the fray with considerably higher HP. I feel as if you should run Dragon tail over Roar on steelix if pokemon don't set up substitute in steelix's presence, the extra damage that dragon tail can provide may be beneficial to the sweep later on.

Thanks for the suggestions. Giga Drain over Leaf Storm might be an interesting option for Sceptile to let him survive longer, but from my experience, I really need the power of Leaf Storm to break through stuff like Cofagrigus who are otherwise difficult to beat. Then again, Giga Drain does mean that I don't have to keep guessing as much if the opponent has something like Ferroseed, so I'll try it out. On Steelix though, I'm probably just going to keep Roar since Dragon Tail means that Steelix can be set up on by stuff like SubCM Uxie, who I use Steelix to beat, and most of the stuff that has Taunt is either hit somewhat hard by Steelix (Aerodactyl, Drapion, Qwilfish), or are unnecessary to phaze (Gligar).

Honestly, this is one of the best and most consistent ru teams out there. Being able to reach #1 in consecutive rounds is remarkable and your using a butterfree for crying out loud.
I would keep steelix if I were you because of it's ability to phaze and it's better typing over probopass. It does pratically the same thing as probopass but more. I love that sceptile set I might add. Being able to get huge power but then not having to switch using sub seed is brilliant. You have a little bit trouble HO from my expierences of playing you but really I have no idea to help that since you have great synergy in your team.

One of the best teams ru has ever had. Good job and Luvdisc

Edit: Also you may want to try scarf rotom-c over sceptile. Having no scarfer really kills the team as well as it makes beating stall teams easier thanks to trick. You should just test it and see how useful it is. As currently not a whole lot of stall is floating around.

Hmm, Scarf Rotom-C is interesting. I actually have tried Rotom-C for a bit, and it's actually really quite cool and a very viable alternative over Sceptile, but idk, I just don't really like how it's locked into a single move. Sceptile's ability to switch moves helps a lot vs stuff like Ferroseed, and while Volt Switch can circumvent this to some extent, I feel that Choice Scarf Rotom-C is really easy to predict and play around, while it's a bit harder to do so against Sceptile because of Sceptile. At the moment, I also feel that Sceptile is mostly fast enough to beat most troublesome threats. I'll try it out again, but I think I'll probably just stick to Sceptile for the time being unless stall becomes really common for some reason. Also, thanks so much Double01 for the complements.

Wow, this is truly an amazing team! This is definitely one of the best RU teams out there. This is the only team I've consistently lost to lol. The only minor weakness I can see is against LO Sceptile with HP Rock. The only thing I can think of to deal with it is to change your own Sceptile to a Scarf Rotom-C with HP Ice/Fire. Giga Drain is also an option over Leaf Storm. I've used a similar set to much success. It allows Sceptile to regain even more HP so it can make more subs, and doesn't give you -2 SpA. Anyways, those are just some things to consider. This is one of the best and most creative RU teams out there; congrats on your success!

Yeah, LO Sceptile is probably one of the bigger threats to this team, along with Nasty Plot + Trick Room Cofagrigus and Lilligant. I'm not too sure how much Rotom-C would help with Sceptile though, since iirc LO Focus Blast 2HKOes, or at least with Stealth Rock, so it'd be a shaky check at best. Most of the time I usually just have to play around those troublesome mons with priority and Sceptile, and admittedly a better answer to them would be ideal. I can't think of anything better to try than Scarf Rotom-C though, so I guess I'll definitely try it out. Thanks Dittocrow!

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Hi! Nice team here, and flattered to be mentioned in the OP! Butterfree <3

That Slowking + Hitmonchan + Entei core is really cool and strong on its own, and as other people said, there's not much to change about the team. Maybe Quagsire can be really troublesome if he manages to get Toxic on your Sceptile, so HP Grass or Toxic is an option on CB Entei I guess, but that's pretty rare anyways. Grats on your peak!

Hmm, I've never found Quagsire to be really troublesome, though it can be a bit annoying when it manages to Toxic Sceptile yeah. I might try out Hidden Power Grass in Will-O-Wisp's spot again on Entei though, since they're equally niche imo, and even though i do like hitting those Qwilfish with Will-O-Wisp on the switch, I guess Hidden Power Grass would be cool to hit Omastar in particular, while it still deals with Kabutops and Rhydon too.

Also, I played with Choice Scarf Rotom-C and Giga Drain on Sceptile a bit for the past few days, and at the moment I think I'll just stick with Leaf Storm Sceptile. I really dislike being locked into an attack, especially on something like Rotom-C who doesn't really have the sheer power to muscle through a lot of its common switches. Granted, Volt Switch was cool, but that's very predictable and easy to deal with, which usually forced me to trick away the scarf earlier than I'd like. Stall really isn't common at all at the moment, so imo there's not too much of a point to use it over Sceptile. Giga Drain was also just too weak, and while I did like the extra longevity it gave Sceptile, I just ended up losing to stuff like Nasty Plot Trick Room Cofagrigus, who I usually need Leaf Storm for.

Toxic and Hidden Power Grass over Will-O-Wisp were pretty good changes though, but it really didn't matter that much most of the time since I really just spam Flare Blitz / Extremespeed with Entei anyway :p. Toxic was useful though since getting that Toxic on something like Slowking sometimes won me the match, which was pretty cool so I'll definitely change Will-O-Wisp back to Toxic.

It's pretty hard to rate a team that's peaked #1, but always make sure to keep Slowking at decent health, because Typhlosion can really put a dent in your team if Slowking's gone.

Congrats on the peak!

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Typhlosion usually isn't a huge issue, since with Regenerator, it's usually very difficult to remove Slowking unless I play stupidly. Even if Slowking's gone, I at least still have Entei and Hitmonchan to revenge it with their priority attacks. Still, thanks!

Okay, so with the tiering changes I'll most likely retire this team, since no Gligar and Claydol means that Butterfree will have a much harder time setting up, and Nasty Plot + Trick Room Cofagrigus will be much more common probably, which is somewhat of a problem for this team. Still, maybe it'll continue to work since I could still beat those Cofagrigus's before the tiering shifts, but it'll make every match much more difficult, so idk.